Each Of Us, A Monolith (2022)

digital mock-up

A proposal for a site-specific installation at the corner of Highland Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue in Lower Highland Park, evoking the form of a fallen tree in a grove. The semi-circular frames reference the shape of tree rings, which preserve the living conditions of the tree at different points in time, operating like cross-sections of a life in a similar way to memory. Together, scattered throughout the field, the segments will create the abstracted form of a tree trunk, referencing the absence and loss of its corporeal body. As the sun travels through the sky, the light will illuminate different panels; at times of lower light, or when there is more cloud cover, the diffuse light will draw the viewer’s eye to the landscape beyond through the transparent fabric.

The title “Each of Us, A Monolith” speaks to the power of the individual. By drawing attention to the past life of this tree, the piece gives weight and importance to the lives of the other species that surround us. It asks viewers to contemplate the breadth and beauty of a single individual’s lifetime, and the necessity of acknowledgement and grief in our collective healing.